Yamaha introduced the original YZF-R1 in 1998. Helped along by Valentino Rossi and Team Blue’s MotoGP accomplishments throughout the aughts, the superbike gained a faithful following over the past 25 years. Yamaha hasn’t revealed any plans to commemorate that quarter-century milestone but it doesn’t stop media outlets from prognosticating.
Chief among the speculators is Japan’s Young Machine. The publication certainly boasts a winning record, with many of its reported “rumors” coming to fruition. In Young Machine’s October 2022 issue, the outlet runs with the R1’s 25th-anniversary idea and imagines all the possibilities with a digital render.
As concepts go, the artist dreams big, outfitting the legendary liter bike with MotoGP-inspired winglets and a livery reminiscent of the 1998 YZF-R1. Dazzling in signature Yamaha white and red race colors, the re-envisioned R1 even adopts the ‘90s-styled YZF logo along the side fairing.
While Young Machine takes liberties with the superbike’s bodywork and paint scheme, actual documents reinforce the idea that Yamaha will launch a new R1 variant in 2023. In June, 2022, a YZF1000W listing showed up on the FIM Recognized Competition Vehicles file. The document categorizes the YZF1000W as a “Road race” model harnessing a four-stroke, 998cc, four-cylinder engine.
Given the track-only YZF-R6 Race’s YZF600W designation, it’s safe to assume that this new liter bike entry is a race-prepped R1. Whether the closed circuit model impacts the production unit, is the real question, however.
In previous years, many expected Yamaha’s seamless gearbox to debut on an updated R1. Sadly, the 2020 update arrived with no such transmission. The bLU cRU already holds patents for a road-going seamless gearbox unit, but there’s no telling whether the firm binned the project due to homologation or production restrictions.
I think I speak for all sportbike fans when I say that the advanced transmission would be a welcome sight in the segment. Of course, a 25th anniversary livery and MotoGP winglets wouldn’t be bad additions either.
